Since mid-November, we’ve been visited by many birders looking to spot the eastern bluebird, as there have been many sightings on our property and in surrounding areas.

According to Wikipedia, the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York. Eastern bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf states, and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua.

It’s rare to see them this far west, hence the excitement. Birders communicate with each other online, so people have been coming from all over.

Here’s a recent correspondence from from one of the birders:

“First, thank you SO very much for allowing birders to enjoy these fantastic bluebirds on your Siskiyou campus. We appreciate your generosity, as well as your land stewardship, which created a good home for these birds.

“More importantly: You may have been warned already, but IF the birds stay through January 1st, you’re going to get a big influx of birders visiting/re-visiting the site the first couple weeks of the new year. This is because many of the birders who saw the birds in 2018 will want to see them again for their 2019 “Year Lists” (a list of all the bird species they’ve seen in Oregon that calendar year).”

It has been fun to watch birders in their native habitat enjoying the land. They are all respectful and grateful. Two of them pointed out a couple of birds in a tree right next to the path a couple of days ago, so it seems the birds like it here.